141: Having Public Affairs Without Screwing Up

Mike reminds us that “Responsibility to the Community” is not just a slogan on a squad car door in this episode, where he and Jim talk about the necessity of keeping the public informed in a manner that is both helpful to the public and not harmful to ongoing investigations. ”Public Affairs” is more than just a job title, and requires keeping in mind the emotions that surround complex situations.   In a job where having to come to terms with the possibility of inflicting lawful violence, it can be easy to lose sight of the fact that most normal people haven’t had those conversations with themselves. Avoiding dehumanizing statements or flippant “FAFO” statements is crucial to effective community relations. In this episode, Jim and Mike discuss the balance between keeping the public informed and protecting information that actually needs protecting for civil or criminal reasons.

Links:  The Elements of Style By William Strunk Jr and E.B. White - https://amzn.to/3rnuWkg

The Five Languages of Apology by Gary Chapman and Jennifer M Thomas - https://amzn.to/3NLqrY1

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Intro music credit Bensound.com